From Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
TEN SHILLINGS WEEKLY is paid for the best communication received, and one penny a line of ten words for anything else published, with an allowance for photographs.
Stopping a Leak with Potatoes [1025] " ES." (Seaham Harbour) writes :--" I send you a short account. of a breakdown that I recently experienced, and of the novel manner in which I managed to effect a temporary repair. "I was out trying a new van, and was about 25 miles away from home, when the fan spindle broke. The jagged end of the broken shaft knocked a hole in the radiator, which was of the honeycomb type, and for a moment it seemed as if it had sustained a vital injury, and would have to rely.on towing in order to get back to the works. As a last desperate resort I obtained half-a-dozen potatoes from a neighbouring farm, and jammed them into the radiator at the fractured parts. I then placed a piece of wash-leather over each repair on both sides of the radiator, and fixed two pieces of board across, binding them together with string. This may seem a simple—and possibly absurd—repair, but it served its purpose until such time as we could repair the damage in proper manner!'
Pointers when Fitting Wheel Bushes.
The sender of the following communication has been , awarded the 108. prize this week.
[1026] " H.B." (Sandbach) writes :—" I send you a few hints which are useful when securing bushes in wheels. Trouble often occurs through bushes being badly fitted. Often they are secured by means of one or two grub-screws, which are screwed into the wheel boss and bush at right-angles with the axle, as in Fig. .1. This method is not by any means fool-proof, for occasionally the screws are burred Over by the points' coming in contact with the shaft, and this leads to grooving and may destroy a good bearing. "Another commonly-used method which can be easily bettered is that of using a grub-screw as before, but which does not go right through the bush, as in Fig. 2. The main objection to this method of securing the bush is that it leads to distortion, as shown in the sketch. A better method is shown in Fig. 3, and this calls for the use of cheese-headed setscrews. The holes in the boss are countersunk, and the bush is drilled right through at right-angles with the axle. The screws are secured from grooving, and the objections which are urged against the second method mentioned are removed by this means.
"Personally, I always use the method shown in the last sketch. In this case several grub-screws are fitted into the bush and the boss, parallel to the axle, and when this is done there is no possibility of the screws' coming into contact with the shaft. Further, any twisting strain caused by the bearing's heating and tightening the bush on the shaft merely serves to tighten the studs, which of course is quite useful and is to be desired."
Smart Emergency Repairs.
[10271" G.S.J." (Battersea) writes :—" Some short time ago I was returning to the garage with a four-ton van, when I experienced great difficulty owing to the clutch slipping. A liberal use of Fuller's earth, and a little careful driving, enabled me to reach a small country yard, where I put up for the night. In the morning, when investigating, I found that the thread on the clutch-shaft had badly stripped, and the clutch had, in consequence, slipped continually and was badly burned. After a little deep thought, I went out and bought two lady's leather belts and cut them to fit over the old leather on the clutch. These were then held in position by tacks, the heads of which were punched in, and this process turned over the points under the old leather and held the belts firmly. The adjustment nut was then screwed up as far as the stripped thread would allow, and the repair held till I drove in triumph into the home garage. " On another occasion I had trouble with my magneto, which was a, Bosch of the H.D.N.' type. On this occasion the platinum tip on the long screw had entirely worn off owing to long wear and constant cleaning. The van was fitted with coil ignition, but this was not very satisfactory. I resolved to use one of the coil-screws to try and effect a temporary repair. The screw was a little short, but by filing the head and using a little cotton thread I got it to hold firmly enough for the purpose. This repair not only enabled me to reach home, but ran for several days afterwards without trouble. It should not be hard, even when no coil-screws are to hand on the van one is driving, to beg, borrow or steal ' a screw from some passing car."